Escaped U.S. murderer captured after a three days on the run

Michael Floyd "Pretty Boy Floyd" Wilson, 47, who was serving two life sentences for convictions of two separate homicides in 2014, is seen in this undated Mississippi Department of Corrections photo obtained on July 8, 2018. Courtesy Mississippi Department of Corrections/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - An escaped convict, who climbed a Mississippi prison fence Thursday and went on a three-day run, was captured late Saturday near the Gulf Coast city, Biloxi, the Jackson County, MS, Sheriff said.

Michael Floyd “Pretty Boy Floyd” Wilson, 47, who was serving two life sentences for convictions of two separate homicides in 2014, is considered extremely dangerous, said Sheriff Mike Ezell.

“A few years back he beat two people to death with a hammer,” Ezell said. “He is unquestionably one of the most dangerous felons we’ve dealt with.”

After he escaped sometime before noon Thursday from the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville, he hitchhiked southward, catching two rides and headed 70 miles toward the coast, the sheriff said.

“We plastered the media with calls for help and got hundreds of tips,” the sheriff said. “One of them panned out.”

Ezell said Wilson was found “holed-up” in an empty trailer in the coastal community of Ocean Springs, MS.

“We put every resource we had on it, and captured him without anyone getting hurt,” Ezell said. “He’s now on his way back to prison.”

The sheriff did not know if Wilson received any help with his escape, but it is still under investigation.

A spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Corrections was not available late Saturday for comment.